Top Ten Walks

One of its earliest names, Buistan, recorded in the Domesday Book, means something like ‘market rock’; and evidence of Neolithic, Bronze Age and Iron Age settlement have all been discovered on the hill.

So when the 6th Earl of Chester, Ranulph de Blundeville, chose the rock for his new castle, in 1225, the site was already important. His new castle incorporated all the state-of-the-art techniques he’d witnessed during his time fighting in the Fifth Crusade.

This rare Victorian photograph shows the massive, ivy-clad gatehouse of the inner bailey when the broad, rock-cut ditch was still infilled with centuries of rubble. Notice the two small boys perched on steps now replaced by the modern concrete bridge spanning the excavated ditch.

Week by week, we’ll look at all aspects of this lovely lofty walk along Cheshire’s central, wooded sandstone ridge. Everything from favourite stretches and viewpoints along the way to upcoming events, races and challenges, popular places of interest, unusual wildlife, history and tales of the unexpected … But whatever we cover, it’ll never be dull.

Feel free to email me your stories and pictures, too — send them to ‘tony at northerneyebooks.com’. I’ll put the best up here.